The Little Space: Poems Selected and New, 1968-1998

by Alicia Suskin Ostriker

In this selection of poems from thirty years of a distinguished writing career, we see the growth of a poet’s mind, heart, and spirit as Ostriker struggles to love “this wounded / World that we cannot heal, that is our bride.” Whether she probes the meaning of childhood, family, marriage, and motherhood, or art, history, politics, and God; whether she is celebrating sexuality or confronting mortality, the poet includes “whatever I can grasp of human experience within my art—the good and beautiful, the evil and chaotic. I tell my students that they must write what they are afraid to write; and I attempt to do so myself.”

Genres: Poetry

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Alicia Suskin Ostriker is an American poet and scholar who writes Jewish feminist poetry.

Reviews

[M]

Express your anger like a swan.

[John Adams]

A strong collection, laden with Biblical references and with a raw and incisive woman's perspective on childbirth, breast cancer, and parenting.

[Gerry LaFemina]

What a joy to read selections from Alicia Ostriker's complete body of work and what a great way to watch the development of her voice, her thoughts, and her spirituality over the years of her writing poetry. The poems aren't all "keepers" in my book, and there are some gems missing, but overall this is a strong read.

[Amy Kitchell]

I never thought it would end....it kept going and going and going...rrrrr.